


Deception

by KittyFartingBubbles



Series: Double-Dealing [2]
Category: GOT7
Genre: Blood, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Torture, Lies, M/M, Minor Injuries, Spies & Secret Agents, Very Slight Romance, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-06
Updated: 2017-05-06
Packaged: 2018-10-28 17:52:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10836318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittyFartingBubbles/pseuds/KittyFartingBubbles
Summary: "If they find me, they will kill me." He tells Jaebum, a hint of hysteria on his voice, this was not supposed to happen."They will not find you."





	Deception

  
_Jaebum dumps his bags into the back of the car with a huff. "Can you just stop the talking for a minute there, I just rescued you from prison."_

 

_His temper flare. "I didn't ask you to do it, in fact, I was perfectly capable of getting out of there alone."_

 

_"You were seating with your knees up to your chest and calling for your mama."_

 

_He sputters at that and Jaebum's smirk doubles in size. "I was resting, I was actually going over my escape plan."_

 

_Jaebum is opening the driver's seat door and he sees this as a chance, he tries to grab Jaebum's collar to pull him away from the car and make him learn a lesson. Jaebum gives his chest a push, twirls smoothly and kicks him sharply in his ass, a movement so swift that his brain couldn't even register it happening. He feels his cheek flame in shame, feeling like a child being chastised by his mother and Jaebum is looking at him with a touch of pity._

 

_"You are going to get along with Jackson Wang like nobody's business, I am actually regretting my decision."_

 

_He vaguely wonders what he means by that, he as done his share of stuff, but nothing to impossible or nothing that deserves being rescued from the prison. He doesn't even know how he got caught in the first place, he just wanted to train his stealth skills._

 

_Jaebum is gazing at him intently. "You don't just do the things you do with pure luck, this was the first time you were caught, the things that you've been doing since you came to South Korea, we've kept tabs on you. I'm intrigued by you. So much potential being wasted, what a damn shame."_

 

He clutched the thick envelope in his hands, warnings running around on his head, trying to push sense onto his actions, reminding him what had come of those who loved him because of his actions.

No contact whatsoever, no matter the reason.

 

That was the first rule they had agreed upon, but now he was going to break it, for a greater good, or so he hoped. With a sigh he stashed the papers on his backpack, crouching against the window, peeking inside the room.

.

  
Fuck me, Mark thinks as something hard smashes into his temple and he crumples face first to the floor. At the exact same time a gunshot his heard, followed by a shout, and he as to give it to the target, he is a tough guy.

 

"You want my help, but you still shot me in the leg," their target let out in an incredulous voice, breathing precariously.

 

"I was aiming for your arm," Jackson says, and Mark thinks that he is spending way too much time with Jinyoung.

 

He gets up from the floor, cleaning his clothes as he does so and gives Jackson a hard look, ignoring the sharp pain in his head. "What, at least he can't run away like this. Now, tell me the truth."

 

Mark presses his right hand to his aching head, the shallow cut on his forehead bleeding heavily, red trailing down the side of his jaw. He brings an arm to clean the blood out of his face and only manages to make a bigger mess out of it. He was a little bit woozy.

 

"You hurt my partner in crime and I could not let that happen." Jackson's face hardened, his jaw clenched as he shook his head. "I want the truth, Guterres fled the city, and the more we look into it the plot seems to deepen. There are one too many people involved. Seven others have been killed, their deaths were made to look like accidents."

 

"This is bigger than you," The target said quietly, a trickle of disdain still present in his voice. "You have no idea boy, entire countries are wrapped on this one."

 

"Enlighten me, then," Jackson said with a hint of warning in his voice.

 

In Mark's peripheral vision something caught his eyes, a movement beyond the window, almost like a running shadow. He frowned, brain still fogged by the blow to his head. He signed Jackson, raising a finger and slowly made his way to the window, crouching next to it he took a quick look, and yes there was, for certain, a shadow outside, hunched below the window, it tugged something inside of him, bells ringing in his head, screaming loudly in his brain, now if he only could concentrate.

 

"Jackson," he warned when he saw a flash of something glistening, his mind screaming a desperate warning.

 

Mark didn't wait for his partner to answer, without thinking he lunged forward, hauling Jackson down as the glass of the window broke, raining down bullets and some kind of gas in its wake.

.

 

"I'm fine."

 

"No, you're not." Jackson's was kneeling at Mark's side, brushing the blood out of his temple with careful fingers. A car pulled next to them and Jackson helped Mark in, nodding at Youngjae.

 

"Mark, Jackson, you all right?"

 

"We will live," Mark muttered, his fingers slipping gently along Jackson's arm, trying to calm him down, head wounds always bleed a lot and Mark was fine, it was a small cut, nothing else.

 

"We need something for that," Jackson replied thumb pointing at Mark's head, not paying mind to his reassurances.

 

"We have a problem," Youngjae said as Jackson reached for the first aid kit stashed under the seat. "Jaebum and Jinyoung mission was a fiasco. Everyone was already dead when they got there, throats slit." Jackson's sharp eyes read Youngjae expression with ease. Something was very wrong.

 

"Those targets were among the best." He leaned back on the seat next to Mark, his hand on the other's knee, the sick swirl of his stomach worsening with every new thought and bandages forgotten for now. The streets melted away beneath the car's tires, the view passing the window. Empty roads greeted them at every turn, and it was only Youngjae's incredulous tone of voice that woke him out of his light slumber of blood and lies.

 

"What the -?"

  
  
The sky was glowing with oranges and reds. Dense smoke reached up to the sky, and he realized that he could hear the shrill of fire engines. The blaze was one street from where they were, and his heart sank in his chest, hard and heavy. It didn't take them long to reach the place and Jackson, got out of the car leaning against the open door to stare at what was left of their agency building.

 

He hears the gasp Mark lets out, and with a sharp sound, the roof caved in. The air was thick with the scent of smoke. Whoever had set the building one fire knew what they were doing, nothing much was going to survive the fire. His phone beeps out and Jackson reaches for it. Under attack. You know what to do. His eyes were wide when he read Jaebum's text, a feeling of panic making itself known.

 

"We are under attack."

.

 

_He lashes out, calculating the angle of his punch so that it collides with his opponent's jaw. A second later, he ducks from a kick to the face, but the other knees him in the gut, he chokes and swerves around another barrage of blows, trying to get low enough to kick his opponent's ankles out from under him, except the other is fast and he is getting tired quickly._

 

_"You chose the wrong person to play with, kid." The other rasp in his face, breath hot and pungent. "I will make sure to come back for you."_

 

_The thing is, there is no way to know how or when the other is attacking, and to help the party, they don't know his real face. This is not going to end well for him._

 

.

 

Youngjae smacked his palm against the steering wheel, cursing as he glared at the barricade in the distance. Every road they took ended the same way, blocked. Police ambling back and forth, patrolling every corner, taking concern of the various fires all over the city, treating the situation as an act of terrorism.

 

It was tempting to storm the roadblock, to simply tell Youngjae to put his foot down and break through the wood, but Jackson knew that was not an option, getting out of the city undetected was essential, damn getting out of the country was probably the next step.

 

"You know another route?" Mark asked, his voice not much more than a murmur. He was leaning forward in his seat, watching the barricade with rapt attention, taking in the movements of the soldiers.

 

"Maybe. They always start to block the bridges first, probably because they're easiest. From there they work clockwise, in theory, the road that goes south should be the last to be cut off."

 

Mark scratched absently at the plaster on his head, gazing out of the window at the passing night. Eventually, he said, "Pick a minor street, at most we only have a few hours of advantage over any pursuers and we need the time."

 

.

 

Jaebum's voice was desperate, thick with concern "I know hiding is the last thing either of us wants, we need to assess the threat, find the weak points and break it apart." He shrugged, exasperated.

  
  
Whatever Jaebum had been about to say was interrupted by a firm tap on the door, instantly the room fell silent, and Jinyoung cautiously peered out of the nearest window, ready to back away in case of need. With agile fingers he brushed the curtain aside a fraction, peering out into the street.

 

"Mark, Jackson, Youngjae," he said, bursting the bubble of tension that filled the air. With quick Yugyeom pulled the door open to let them in before closing quickly.

 

Jaebum does a quick check, eyeing the newcomers and Yugyeom sees his eyes harden at the sight of Mark's bloody forehead.

 

"Can someone explain what is going on?" Jackson demands, pushing a struggling Mark to the couch.

 

"We got hacked," Jaebum replies. Jackson frowns at that and Mark tensed under his touch, looking anxious.

 

"I trust you're going to elaborate?"

 

"They basically piggybacked onto our servers. They had their own ghost program building them a personal back door into our system. With the back door in place, they could access our servers freely."

 

"Has the problem been resolved?" Yugyeom jabs with a tiny smirk and Jackson feels his lips tremble on his effort to keep his smile at bay.

  
  
"Please," Jaebum scoffs. "Do you even know me?"

 

"Oh, we certainly do." Jinyoung continues.

  
  
Jaebum rolls his eyes. "Yeah, it's been resolved. Next time they try to access a nasty virus will corrupt their files." He grins smugly, most likely feeling very proud of himself.

 

"What if they find another way to install the backdoor again?" Mark asks. "What are we doing to prevent that?

 

"Well, you know I'm still working on that," Jaebum stutters out.

 

A look of concern furrows Youngjae's brow. "I don't understand. Do we need to upgrade our security systems?"

 

"Nothing's wrong with my security system!" Jaebum crosses his arms over his chest much like a petulant child.

 

.

 

_"Jaebum," He all but pleaded with his boss, with his friend. "I've done everything you asked of me."_

 

_Jaebum passes a hand through his hair, resting it in front of his eyes, he looked old, weary and tired, lack of sleep and stress taking is toll on him. "Fuck, we have to do this right."_

 

_"If they find me, they will kill me." He tells Jaebum, a hint of hysteria in his voice, this was not supposed to happen._

 

_"They will not find you."_

 

_And fuck if he didn't know the meaning of that, for all purposes he was a dead man already._

 

.

 

The meeting should have been a simple exchange of information and payment, but it's turning out to be more complicated than he would like. Silently, he taps Jackson once on his left shoulder, a silent signal to Yugyeom, watching through the sniper's lens to be alert, and Jackson shifts slightly in acknowledgment. He faintly registers the clack of the keyboard in his earpiece as Jaebum frantically tries to pull up more information on their contact.

 

The man in the corner makes his way over to them leisurely, confidence and respect evident in his expression. "You'll have to forgive me, I was just taking the necessary precautions."

 

Jackson nods in amiable agreement, as the other man seats himself calmly across the table.

 

"Now that that's out of the way, perhaps we should begin for real," Jackson suggests and Mark narrows his eyes and watches in amusement as the other man fights to hide his flinch.

 

" _Fuck, Mark_ ," Jinyoung whispers urgently and Mark searches for the best escape route, eyes darting around the room. " _Get out of there, someone just gave the word and our heads are now worth 50 million each, this guy just popped up out of nowhere; we need you to get you guys out of there_."

 

The other man looks up, pleased with the payment, and Jackson forces himself to relax and smile as he asks, "Is everything in order?"

 

"Yes, yes, I'm very pleased."

 

"Good, then, about the information…?" Jackson presses and Mark shifts closer to him, playing the role of a bodyguard perfectly.

  
  
"Yes, about that…" the informant smiles, and Mark feels his pulse speed up. "I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid I don't have the information I said I did."

  
  
Jackson remains unruffled, it was a trap after all.

 

" _Mark_ ," Jinyoung says quickly over the are piece, _"we are going blind, we no longer have eyes on you, something is interfering with the cameras, we also lost contact with Yugyeom. Be ready_."

 

"I recently decided to offer my skills to a bigger fish, lacking off better phrasing. Unfortunately, they wanted to test my abilities, and they offered me you, the money reward was very appealing, so here we are."

  
  
It's like those words are some sort of signal because suddenly people appear out of thin air. Mark counts six guns pointed at them, trained directly at their heads.

 

"We also have your man at gun point so I wouldn't be expecting back up anytime soon. Mark spares a brief moment of worry for Yugyeom before he focuses on the situation at hand.

  
  
The air stills around them for a few moments, Mark barely has time to dodge the punch coming at his face, he counters by smashing the heel of his hand into his opponent's face. The man reels back, his leg coming up to swing at his hip; he intercepts it with his elbow and retaliates with a kick of his own, except the target wraps an arm around Mark's knee and jerks him closer, and Mark only sees the combat knife when it plunges deep into his shoulder.

 

He jerks out in pain, and does the only thing that comes to mind, he shoves his fingers in the informant's eyes and takes the opportunity, bringing his gun to the other's forehead and firing. Mark gives himself a couple of seconds to move, trying to find Jackson in the chaos and it's too late when he realizes someone managed to sneak up around Jackson and nothing stands between the end of his gun and Jackson's exposed chest.

 

In that instant moment of clarity, Mark knows that there's nothing they can do, so he watches the bullet hitting Jackson in the chest and the blood flowing through his shirt suit, tainting it red. Cursing under his breath, Mark empties the clip in his gun and drags Jackson out of harm's way, finding a place to hide and slams in another clip in the handgun.

 

"Jinyoung," he yells over the chaos. "Fuck, we need to get out of here, now."

 

" _The rendezvous point is two and a half kilometers South of your location_ ," Jinyoung reports through the intercom. " _Will you be able to make it there_?"

 

Another wave of gunfire rains down around him, and Mark takes a look at the injured Jackson, he can see that he is breathing, the vest must have slowed down the bullet. "Negative," he grunts. His shoulder is aching something fierce and he cannot carry Jackson in this conditions. "These guys aren't even giving me space to breathe. Yugyeom?"

 

" _How long can you hold out for? We are already taking care of him, just focus on staying alive_."

 

"Can't," Mark starts to say, and it's all he has time for because one of the men firing on him brings a rocket launcher into the fight, and without warning the shock wave throws him painfully to the floor. Ears ringing, vision blurring, head spinning. Before passing out he catches a faint glimpse of converse yellow shoes and blue jeans.

 

.

 

He doesn't even have to open his eyes to know where he is; the harsh light that seeps through his eyelids, the artificial stench, the steady hum of electronics nearby Mark's woken up in his fair share of hospital rooms, given his line of work. He knows the drill; the confusion, the aching of fresh bruises and still bleeding cuts, the compulsion to slip away unnoticed.

 

He's beyond thirsty, tongue dry between his split, chapped lips. He licks them, disappointed by the vain attempt to moisten the scabbed flesh. The drugs have worn off, that much he can tell by the way his shoulder is protesting. Just for curiosity's sake Mark tries to move his feet and lets out a sigh when he sees he can move pretty well.

 

He makes another frustrated noise, staring up at the ceiling, it appears, for the moment at least, that he's alone. He sighs and shakes his head, squinting through the light to give the room a once over. Mark would swear he saw him. The thought leaves a sour taste of distress on his tongue and he swallows hard, struggling to fight back the thick disappointment that wedges in his throat.

 

He feels raw, vulnerable, exposed… not at all like an agent ought to be, what Mark Tuan ought to be. But Mark saw him, right? His fingers tremble at the memory, shaking violently where they've subconsciously come to rest on his chest.

 

"Well," he tells to himself, voice cracking, as he slowly seats on the bed "this fucking sucks."

 

"I agree with you on that one." Mark gives a smirk at Jinyoung, who falls onto the chair and smiles at Youngjae who seats on the bed.

 

"Jesus, Mark." Youngjae lets out a sigh, the sound shaky, and brings his hand up to his hair. "I know this is part of the job. I know it's a risk we all take. But you gave us such a scare."

 

"Wasn't my intention, even if I had worse." He reassures the younger. "Jackson? Yugyeom?"

 

"Everyone is peachy." Mark would love to believe Jinyoung, but the tone of his voice says the exact opposite. "Mark, what do you remember?"

 

He swallows hard and for a moment he wants to tell them, who he saw, but in the end, he gives up because the one he saw was dead. "Not much, everything is fuzzy and stuff."

 

"When he found you and Jackson," Youngjae starts, his hand resting on Mark's thigh. "Both of you were unconscious, but everyone else was dead."

 

Mark shakes his head in denial, and brings a finger to his mouth, biting his nail, a habit that was long lost or so he thought. Youngjae pats him in the thigh again and Jinyoung kisses his forehead, just a soft brush of lips on his skin.

 

"Rest for a bit more, we will talk later." And Mark thinks that Jinyoung is such a mother hen, if one's mother had extensive knowledge of weaponry as well as twelve pressure points that will kill a person instantaneously. He thinks that so that he can keep the other thoughts at bay.

 

.

 

_"A few hours ago you apprehended a young man in this very room," He says breathing hard. "Tell me where he is."_

 

_The man glares up at him. "I don't know what you're talking about."_

 

_Without taking his eyes off the target, he says calmly to Jaebum, "Shoot him."_

 

_Startled, the man looks away from him and towards Jaebum, who does not even hesitates and shoots the man in the leg._

 

_The man utters a strangled scream, but he jams the gun into his throat, silencing him once more. "Tell me, or the next one will be on your knee."_

 

_Their eyes meet for a few seconds. Long enough for the man to realize he is deadly serious about the threat. "They said something about the docks. That's all I-"_

 

_He whips the gun upward, striking the man in the chin and driving his head back against the floor. He slumps, unconscious._

 

_He glances at Jaebum, who already as a phone in his hands. "Jinyoung. I've got the address."_

 

_Then Jaebum locks eyes with him and lets out a; "We are going to use this in our favor."_

 

.

 

"I had to take some time off for that bullet on my chest, remember? I'm out of commission, for a while."

 

Mark touches Jackson's chest as if trying to brush away the blood that had pooled from the wound as if he could wash it away.

 

"I remember." he says softly.

 

Jackson turns to him, an unreadable emotion crossing his face for a split second.

 

"I'm sorry," Mark says earnestly because it was partially his fault for Jackson having been injured.

 

"Stop blaming yourself, Mark." Jackson tells him, placing a hand on Mark's shoulder, reminding him that he also got injured. "You have to stop with that guilt."

 

They stare at each other for a while, Mark blinks and when he opens his eyes again Jackson is grinning at him with a goofy face.

 

They hear a rap on the door and Yugyeom's head peeks through. "Meeting time, Jaebum is rather bitchy today."

 

Mark follows Yugyeom out of the room with Jackson hot on his wheels, when they reach Jaebum's office, if you can call that to a tiny room with a table and a few chairs, Jinyoung and Jaebum seem to be having a staring contest.

 

Yugyeom clears his throat to get their attention, only Jaebum continues to stare at Jinyoung, almost like he is reminding him who he answers to, that he, Im Jaebum, is their boss.

 

Mark looks at Jaebum with interest and the other avoids his eyes, and in that moment he believes that maybe he was not told the entire truth about what it's going on, once again.

 

"Mark," Jaebum says, barely glancing at Jackson. "Your report was mostly blank. We need to know what happened there, with the both of you unconscious there is no way you could have survived alone."

Mark says nothing, tilting his head to the side, challenging Jaebum to continue and he does.

 

"I believe you are not telling us everything. There is something that you are hiding, but Mark, you have to tell me, I'm only trying to help you, all of you."

 

Besides him, Jackson stiffens and Mark brings a hand to his shoulder, grounding him in place. It doesn't seem to help that much. "Are you implying that Mark is going rogue?"

 

The silence that grows in the room is heavy, weighing down on his shoulders, making it difficult to stand upright.

 

"Again?" Jackson spits with venom, the word so sharp it could cut wood. Mark's hold on his shoulder becomes tight. Jinyoung seems to be ready to talk but Jaebum cuts him out.

 

"No." He finally lets out, and he slumps in his chair. "No. But I can't lose any of you."

 

"I understand that, but I also understand that we have to believe in each other, with that said, guess we are done here," Jackson says, propelling Mark through the doorway and the latter lets himself be manhandled.

 

Later on, when he is passing by Jaebum's door, to get to the bathroom, Mark ears soft murmurs behind the closed door, he fights the want of listening in but still makes out a; be careful, from what he recognizes as Jinyoung's voice.

 

.

 

A deafening crash resounded within the gym when Jackson was slammed into a wall. Quick to react, he got up immediately, lunging towards Mark with a vicious snarl.

 

He shoves Mark backward into a small table, the wood splintering, and then they tumble to the floor. Mark rolls away, wiping the blood from his lip with a grimace and allows himself a small smile of amusement for a small moment, before running into Jackson, hands ready to attack.

 

He punched Jackson in the stomach and tried to kick him in the chest, but Jackson grabbed his ankle at the last minute, spinning him around, trapping him on his chest, wrapping his hands around Mark’s neck, cutting off his air supply.

 

Mark fought back, wrapping his legs around Jackson’s body, bringing his upper arms to curl around Jackson’s neck, payback is a bitch, as the other man struggled. He grabbed a handful of Jackson's hair in his hand and pulled hard. Jackson hissed and Mark let go, tapping Jackson on the shoulder, telling him their spare just ended.

 

"Tired already, honey?" Jackson teased with a smirk, his face red and sweaty. It looked good on him.

 

"How's the chest?" He teased back with his own smirk.

 

"Fine." Jackson tilted his head at the door for a moment, a frown on his face. "How's the shoulder?"

 

"Fine."

 

Jackson snorted, looking up at him, bringing a finger to his mouth. "Yeah. Like my chest."

 

"Your chest is fine, Jackson," Mark continue the talk, watching with curiosity Jackson going for the door and leaning on it. "I mean it is, right?"

 

"I think I need to ice it or something, it feels kind of weird lately." Jackson said, voice sharp, when he was back on the floor next to Mark. Mark understood perfectly, Jackson was telling him to read between the lines, he was telling him that secrets were, once again, being kept from them.

 

.

 

Jaebum as his phone on speaker, it was pure luck that Mark was passing by when he did.

 

"And who is going to protect us?" Jaebum raised his voice over the phone.

 

" _Look, we will use the information you got, but we also can do more good_ -"

 

"Who's we? All this mess is going to be swiped under the rug?" said Jaebum. "Again? You are going to destroy something that took decades to build. You will leave us without any defense."

 

" _What do you propose we do instead?_ " Asked the man on the other side of the line.

 

"You haven't been the only ones searching for answers. I still have plenty of friends out there, I know everything. You came to us for help, and now you are backing up, leaving my team to fend for themselves? If you fuck with me it will be your funeral."

 

Jaebum tossed the phone over his shoulder, the device flying over his head, crashing into the wall. He turned around and eyed Jinyoung, ready to do whatever he found necessary to keep the other out of the mess he landed himself into. Jinyoung beat him to it.

 

“If you’re going to tell me, you better be telling me on your own fucking terms or not telling me at all,” Jinyoung says. “I maybe an asshole, but I also know to respect those I care about, the only thing I can do is wait for you to be ready.”

 

"Jinyoung," Jaebum says, voice tired and weary. "This is dirty information, it's a war that's going to be played through meetings and intimidation."

 

"You fucking hypocrite," Jinyoung says and Mark flinches, because this sounded serious.

 

"Mark?"

 

Fuck.

 

"What are you doing?"

 

For a second, Mark wants to tell Yugyeom everything, every single little thing he heard, what he saw, how he felt he was being played again, it disappears when he glances at Yugyeom and he gives him a concern glance. Mark leaves with a shrug and without an explication.

 

.

 

"What are you hiding?" Mark mutters to no one in particular, as he leans in closer towards the computer.

 

He looks over his shoulder nervously, as he types furiously on the keyboard, entering different programming codes, using different languages to slip past the security system that Jaebum had recently installed.

 

"Fuck," he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, he was good at this, but Jaebum was great, it would be a fucking miracle if he could get past the kind of security Jaebum had on his computer.

 

"Mark, what are you doing?" Got caught two times in two days, not your best Tuan. Even without seeing his face, Mark can hear the way Jackson's voice trembles, how afraid he is that Mark had played everyone all along. He doesn't blame him though, he is trying to hack Jaebum's computer when they already are in such a troubled situation.

 

"He is hiding something again," He says finally turning around, the chair squeaking in protest. "Jaebum."

 

Jackson bits his lips, and something flicker over his face, an emotion that come and go so fast that Mark did not have the time to decipher it. "Can you get past it?"

 

Mark's grin is sharp. "I hacked into it more than once over the years. I can do it again." He frowned briefly, already running a decryption algorithm.

 

.

 

_He examines the envelope that was given to him, it was nothing more than a few pieces of paper, forged documents of his now new life. Everything that he was and had been until this very moment was going to cease to exist._

 

_It was all done meticulously, the smallest detail was taken to account, numerous situations were explored, in a few months from know on he was going to disappear, only emerging if or when the threat to his life was taken care of._

 

_As simple as that, he was going to be a dead man, how easy it was to be nothing more than a memory._

 

.

 

Mark and Jackson learned a great deal. All this mess started when Jaebum had commenced a covert operation against Libra. Secret even to the highest ranking officials, there are only a handful of people in the agency who had been aware. The purpose of the operation was to obtain intelligence from all over the world, before sharing them with Libra, to find a way to set a spy on their network, said spy was Kunpimook. The work Libra led was dangerous and poisonous to the world, and it was their mission to end it.

 

Jackson points to a low-quality photograph that Mark managed to print out of a security camera; of a tall man in a suit, hat and sunglasses, they could barely see his face, the picture was useless. "That as to be the source, that guy is Libra" Jackson chirps. "According to the secret records, he is an agent who has turned against his government, we know nothing of him."

 

"So this is the guy that we trade information with? This is the only picture known of him?" Mark murmurs suspiciously.

 

Jackson breath catches in his throat and Mark's hand goes into his gun out of habit. His eyes roam around the room, finding nothing special he looks at Jackson.

 

"Mark," He says weakly, voice low and hurt. "Shit, Mark. He lied to us. Jaebum lied to us."

 

He nods at Jackson, giving him a silent go ahead. "Kunpimook." It's all that leaves Jackson's mouth and it's more than enough for Mark.

 

.

 

They wait for Jaebum, in reality, they wait for everyone because Mark thinks that since they are a team, they all should know what they find out. It's kind of scaring when Mark jumps at Jaebum, fists tightly on the other's shirt, voice deep and uncaring. Jackson should be used to it by now, but he is not, especially not when those are being used on someone he trusted his life on a daily base.

 

"I know about Libra, Jaebum," Mark tuts dispassionately. "You've been giving out intelligence to our enemies," he continues acidly.

 

Jaebum's expression falters for a moment but he remains calm, breathing evenly. "Yes, I delivered them. Because I had to." He says, voice steady. "Things aren't always what they seem, Mark."

 

"Who gave the initial order to kill Kunpimook?" Mark asks, eyes flaring with rage.

 

"He was being targeted, Libra thought he was still working for them, so every now and then we would give him something, just to keep appearances."

 

"Wait. Kunpimook has been innocent all along?" Yugyeom asks, so softly and earnestly that Jackson touches the back of his neck gently.

 

"Yes."

 

"What?" Youngjae gasps, a look of terror on his face, a hand on his chest.

 

Jaebum shrugs Mark's hand out of his clothes and turns to Jackson. "Are you sure of what you saw, Jackson?" He all but spits on his face. "And you, Mark?"

 

"Stop, that is enough," Jinyoung says harshly, a hint of a warning in his words, eyes full of something akin to rage.

 

Jackson doesn't know what to do, where to turn. He was completely stuck in a maze, every action would lead to a new situation. He always thought of Kunpimook as a mole, as someone who had betrayed them the worst way possible. Don't people always say that those we love are the ones that hurt us the most?

 

"I shot him," Mark breathed out barely above a whisper. "I killed him." Jackson knelt on the floor next to Mark, rough fingers threading through his boyfriend's hair, trying to give any semblance of comfort.

 

"I saw him do horrible things. He turned his back to us, that's why I did what I did."

 

"Mark," It was the first time in a very long month, that Jackson heard Jaebum cracking, his voice feeble. "You know how easy it is to fake a face, a voice."

 

"You are sick," Yugyeom yells with rage, eyeing Mark and Jackson. "You saw what that mission did to them, but you continued to play your petty games."

 

"Yugyeom, please, I did what had to be done, they were going to kill him, kill all of us."

 

"So you used Mark?" Youngjae asked, disgust heavy in his words. "And Jackson? Us?"

 

"He was so deep in that it was the only way for him to survive, was to fake his death. We only used the situation in our favor. Kunpimook is innocent, he did nothing wrong." Jaebum looked them all in the eye, his stare softening. "With the right tools, you all heard and saw what we wanted."

 

The silence that overtook the room was heavy, making hard to breathe. Jackson could almost feel the taste of deception on his tongue.

 

"I wanted to save everyone. I'm sorry for being selfish and want to protect those that are important to me."

 

"He shot me," Mark said, his voice distant. "He used me to cover his own ass. He is a coward." He continued expression completely blank.

 

"Mark," Jaebum barked, warning tainting his voice. "Get yourself together."

 

Mark stilled for a moment, and in the next he was all over Jaebum, hands, once again, trapping Jaebum's clothing between his trembling fingers. They looked at each other and Jackson saw the moment Mark let it go. With a deep breath, his emotions were locked way, to be analyzed later on. It was probably something like his defense mechanism kicking in, but Jackson shut his mouth and looked at his best friend with sadness in his eyes at the cold display the other could manage to put on in a moment.

 

"Since Kunpimook decided to show the world he is alive, we are all in danger. We have to work together and find out who is the one that is after us."

 

Mark holds up a photograph of what appears to be an abandoned warehouse. "What is this place? I found it with the other files."

 

Jaebum eyes him seriously but in the end lets out a heavy sigh. "That was the place that they used to meet to share information. Never at the same time or day, but always in this place." He explains to them that the warehouse is somewhere in Italy, but no further information to its location than that.

 

Silence hangs heavily in the air before Mark poses the question no one else dares to ask.

 

"So what the fuck do we do now?"

 

"We need to find Kunpimook," Jaebum says determinedly. "If we find him, we found the real mole, we find Libra."

 

.

 

Four weeks later found Mark in Paris following a lead. They had found some information on Kunpimook, nothing too specific, but he’d recognized the small clues that were left for them. Kunpimook was smoothly guiding them somewhere. Words, codes, items placed in a way that signified something more than meet the normal eye, connected to them in some sort of way. It was enough for Jaebum, it gave him a tiny spark of hope.

 

Mark spent the first week in Paris slipping in and out of government databases, looking out for anything that could catch his eyes, he found absolutely nothing. It was stressful and a tiring task, one that made him frustrated to no end. He changed method, started looking through newspaper archives, making use of the internet, trying to found another trail. It was a shot in the dark, but right now it was the best one they had.

 

It was when he was close to a month, a month of living in the shadows, running away at the smallest sound, kicking his way through whatever was needed at the moment, that he finally found what they were looking for. He could not believe how he did not see it right away, he was under their nose all the time.

 

"Make one move and I’ll rip your head off," Mark hisses dangerously.

 

"Mark," he said, lowering his hands down. "Fancy meeting you here, took you long enough, after all, you just had to cross the damn street and you would find me." Kunpimook voice made the memories in his head stir to life and for a minute, Mark fought not to lose control.

 

With a sigh, Kunpimook went to the windows, pulling the curtains close. When he turned to face Mark, he gave him a tight smile, his lower lip trembling slightly. Kunpimook looked like he always had, young, fresh and neat. Hair a lighter brown shade, eyes small and dark, his shoulders had broaden, filled when they were once mostly bone.

 

Kunpimook hesitated, a few steps away, but as Mark looked intently at him, he crossed the distance and come over Mark, and set his gun down on the small table. He was giving Mark a chance to see that he trusted him.

 

"So, you're going to the press?" Kunpimook asked, but it was more a statement than anything else.

 

Mark's eyebrows went up. "Nothing decided yet." He said with a taint of disdain.

 

"I wouldn't advise it, we are a spy agency, no way we would survive that," said the younger.

 

"Really? Protecting the agency that almost killed you."

 

"We need the agency, it's the only thing protecting us. Come on Mark, I trust you, I trust all of you."

 

"Don’t go there, Kunpimook," Mark whispered. "Don’t bring trust into this, you have no right."

 

The younger took a deep breath and took a seat on the couch. "I was perfect for the job. I had nothing to lose when I was approached by Jaebum, I was a kid, he took me out of prison and took care of me."

Mark says nothing, he seats on the couch in front of Kunpimook, gun still on his hands and motions for him to continue.

 

"I was working for the agency for six months when the Libra case was presented to me. I need you to understand how long this as been going on. I infiltrated their ranks with success and I would pass over information to our side of what they were going to do. Something went wrong in the middle of all that and I was discovered."

 

"So you and Jaebum decided to use the team for your own purpose."

 

"Not like that, Mark. They threaten me, everyone actually, and Jaebum was going nuts. He said he would do whatever it take to take care of his team. He used the opportunity that arose in front of him and everyone won. There was no other way."

 

"You almost killed Jackson, fuck, you shot me,” Mark whispered brokenly. His grip on the gun didn’t change but he dropped his head into his free hand, pulling at his hair and swallowing against some emotion caught in his throat. Mark knew it was not Kunpimook who had hurt them, but for him, whenever he closed his eyes, it was always Kunpimook's taunting face and smoking voice in his head.

 

"What?"

 

"You’re a fucking idiot, Kunpimook," Mark said, voice still quiet but lined with the weight of grief. "I killed you."

 

"I'm sorry."

 

Mark looked at him incredulously. "Don’t fucking apologize. I can’t…" Mark took a long breath. "I’m so fucking angry," he muttered. "You played with us, I mean, you hurt Jackson, so I killed you? That's not who I am. I don't know who I am any longer."

 

The gun in Mark’s hand was trembling and Kunpimook watches with sick fascination as the gun was once again trained on him, this time on his forehead.

 

"Get up, the others are waiting."

 

.

 

JYP has a load of legal offices, government offices, business offices, some of those were secure, they were just like any normal offices, but in reality, they were used as a facade to hide the agency real work, it was one of those they were using. They were all waiting for Mark and Kunpimook. Jackson was so anxious he kept murmuring under his breath, foot tapping on the floor. Mark was alone out there and that scared him, mostly because he was with Kunpimook. Jackson knew though, that Mark could take care of himself if he needed to.

 

"They're here," Jaebum told to the silent room with a frown on his face. Jackson ignored the rest of what their leader was telling them and focused all his attention on the door, waiting. When the damn thing moved and Mark and Kunpimook entered, Jackson was the first on them, completely ignoring Kunpimook, not knowing how to deal with him now that he was back, and pulling Mark to his chest.

 

The older one lets himself be comforted by Jackson, casting his own arms around him, letting his head fall on Jackson's shoulder. Jackson kept the hug for some long seconds and let go with a sigh and a small kiss on Mark's cheek. Mark intertwined their hands together, face hard and semblance heavy.

 

Youngjae slapped Mark on the back, and beside Jackson, Yugyeom kept sending looks at Kunpimook. Jinyoung and Jaebum were already with Kunpimook, whispering fiercely. Mark's hold on his hand tighten and Jackson wanted nothing more than to kiss him, to make him relax and rest, maybe feeding him something too.

 

"...as far as I know, he’s dead.”

 

"No way," Jaebum said incredulously.

 

"Something happened to him, it's been all over the network… Libra's leader is out of the grid."

 

"That doesn’t mean he’s dead," Jinyoung said harshly.

 

"He may have disappeared from the records, but does not mean he is dead," Jaebum said, agreeing with Jinyoung. "You cannot believe he is dead, I mean, this is the oldest trick in the book."

 

Just when Jaebum finishes his sentence, there is a blare of bells, a warning that Jaebum set up with the security cameras in case their security gets breached. Everyone stays quiet and steady for a few seconds, not expecting an attack.

 

Kunpimook is the first to react, hands on his gun when Jinyoung hisses a litany of curses and Jaebum looks at the screens with a frown. "It's a loop, they've set our cameras on a loop and I can't believe I've missed it."

 

The front door is blown out of the hinges, the force behind the explosion making Mark fall to his knees, barely managing to break his fall with his hands. There's a flurry of distorted flashes right before Jackson's eyes and when the dust settles he sees a man with a knife to Mark's neck, pressing to his jugular in a place where one false move would cause the blade to slice into it and make him bleed out in a blink of an eye.

 

"Move and I’ll rip his throat open," the man hisses dangerously. "I knew you fools would lead me right to him," the man said, almost softly, looking at Kunpimook.

 

Jackson could see Mark swallowing thickly, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

 

"You understand why I have to do this, don’t you?" The man asked, sounding almost sad. "You know too much, any of you."

 

"Don't be like that, father," Jinyoung hissed, bringing all the heads on the room to his face. "You were always a great actor, you no longer have to pretend you care for this team."

 

"JYP?" Kunpimook inquired. "It was you all along?"

 

"Surprise," Park Jinyoung senior says with a flourish, the knife in his hand trembling, when he brings his other hand to some electronic device and his face changes back to his original one. "Despise of what you seem to think, I do care about you, you are my children."

 

"You sold information to the one who would pay off more, and you are here to kills us, but you still want us to believe that?" Yugyeom pointed out with a coldness that did not belong on his face.

 

"You are a traitor, father, you know what happens to traitors, don't you?"

 

Jackson tilted his head slightly, signaling Mark to be ready.

 

"The same that is going to happen to you, son. I'm not the only one here. You cannot take out a small army."

 

"We can try," Mark answered.

 

"As you wish," Park Jinyoung senior nodded his head in Kunpimook's direction. "You are going to be the first, always too smart for your own good, kid."

 

Jackson lunged in Mark's direction, crashing through a table and knocking it to the floor. In a blink of an eye the room was full of agents, the sounds of fighting and shouting engulfing him, and he lost contact with Mark, too busy evading the bullets that are coming his way.

 

Mark throws his elbow back and manages to knock the knife off, blood coming out from the small wound on his neck. He rolls to his feet, ready to attack Park Jinyoung senior, but the other is nowhere to be seen and Mark barely avoids the blade that flies by his head. Jinyoung was stalking around, a large katana sword in his hand swinging with deathly precision. Mark uses his right arm to grab the agent's elbow. He brings his left arm around back and grabs the man’s neck from behind, trapping him in a headlock.

 

To his left, Youngjae is fighting a guy almost twice his size. He is dancing around the other, avoiding the man's attack and smashing the other in the face hard. He manages to catch the other by surprise and brings him to the ground with a roundhouse kick.

 

At the same exact moment, Jaebum slams his palm into one of the target's side, causing him to double over. While the man was disoriented, Yugyeom steps behind him, punches the side of his head rendering the man unconscious.

 

Only one man stands between Kunpimook and his tormentor, the man that yank him away from his old life and family. He dodges a dart, probably filled with some kind of venom, and punches the guy straight in the face, grabs his arm and flips him over his back, he swing's around just in time to fire his gun. The bullet catches JYP in his leg, making him stagger on his feet, but he still manages to keep up.

 

"It's the small details, child, that when put together build up the greater picture. You all failed to see that. It was right in front of you the entire time, you trust too much, and trust will be the end of you."

 

Kunpimook smirks at him, and without a doubt, he presses the trigger, watching the old man crumbling to the floor, blood pooling around his warm, but already dead body.

 

.

 

"You put your team-mate's life on the line," said Jackson evenly. "You made Mark watch someone he loved being tortured in front of him."

 

"I would do it again," Jaebum said evenly, trying to placate Jackson.

 

"That is because you are not there with him when he fucking wakes up in the middle of the night crying. You don't get it, it hurts. It fucking hurts so much and I have no one to blame because the one I though it was to blame is Innocent."

 

"Still." Is the only thing Jaebum answers and Jackson smiles at that, a sad and bitter smile.

 

"Leave him, Jackson, he is a fucking asshole who cares about no one but himself." Jinyoung lets out, entering the room with the rest of the team.

 

"I saved everyone."

 

"At what cost?"

 

"You are so fucking full of yourself, Jinyoung, you think you are so much better, don't you? Look at the mirror before opening your damn mouth."

 

"I'm better than you at least."

 

"Stop it." Mark lets out softly, the words barely heard above the fighting. "I'm tired, just stop it."

 

Jaebum nods, and in a blink of an eye, he is in front of Mark, hugging him. He whispers something in his ear and Mark wraps his hands around Jaebum's hugging him back. They are all watching the scene in front of them, but Jinyoung as now a soft smile on his lips, one that someone uses when they are proud. He fucking doesn't care he launches himself at Mark and Jaebum, squeezing them so tight that Mark smacks him in the back of his head.

 

"Group hug," Kunpimook yells and Yugyeom groans.

 

.

 

Jackson finds Kunpimook sitting in the hallway, hair still damp, and holding a steaming cup of tea. He doesn't look in Jackson's direction, but he says, "Something was making noise at night, couldn't sleep, maybe a spirit or something."

 

"Never knew you to believe in ghosts."

 

Kunpimook shrugs as he looks down at his tea. "The Universe is too vast for us to be the only ones around."

 

Jackson sits next to him, keeping his distance. "Guess it makes sense."

 

Kunpimook looks tired and sad when he turns his head. He smiles at Jackson, lopsided, like he's making an effort. "It's not that bad. Everybody makes it out to be awful, but it's not all that bad."

 

"What way are you talking about?"

 

"Being dead. I was so afraid of it. So scared to, but it's okay. There's nothing to be afraid of."

 

"You're not dead," Jackson says, he says it like he is listing a fact, like he is so certain of what he is saying that Kunpimook pauses with his cup close to his lips.

 

"Sometimes it feels like it. Still alive after all the shit we've been through, man. Maybe I'm getting too old for this."

 

Jackson licks his lips and nods slowly. "I feel you. Been on my mind a lot lately. I'm also scared most of the time." Jackson hits Kunpimook on the shoulder and gets up, murmuring under his breath; "But not for me."

 

.

 

The target drew his gun up from its hidden holster and Mark ducked behind the marble counter, a curse escaping his mouth, signaling to Jaebum that the target was armed, their leader nods in acknowledgment.

 

" _Guys, the target as a gun_ ," as in cue Jaebum swears when the bandit fires at him.

 

"Thank you for your extraordinary observational skills, Jackson” Mark drawls.

 

" _I think he wants to kill you_."

 

"Really? And here I thought he was inviting us for tea."

 

" _Why so mean to me_?"

 

"Youngjae is the perimeter clean?" Jaebum ask next to him and Mark hears a bullet passing over his head and he ducks some more, still taking cover behind the counter.

 

" _Yes_."

 

"Kunpimook?"

 

" _All clear_ ," the other answers and Mark reaches for another clip full of ammo, getting ready for what is coming their way.

 

"Jinyoung?" He waits for the confirmation, his heart beating fast in his chest.

 

"Jinyoung, you there?" This time is Jaebum who asks, a sliver of concern on his tone and a second later the other responds.

 

" _Yup alive and breathing. Were you worried, leader_?"

 

"Stop chatting and get on with it, I want to kill someone today." The target murmurs under his breath heavily.

 

“Not going to happen,” Jaebum says with determination planting a knee on the man's sternum and a swift punch to the side of his head, one hand already holding the others gun. “I’ll take that.” He says, opening the man’s grip. He takes the gun and shoots the man in the eye, an expression of disgust in his face.

 

.

"Debriefing is done, go do whatever youngsters do these days," Jaebum said with a dismissive gesture in their direction.

 

Kunpimook grinned at him, getting to his feet. "No need to tells us twice, we're gonna leave and you're gonna sort out your shit, cause nothing's worse than when Mom and Dad have a fight."

 

"I object to that on a number of levels, but let's start with I better be 'Dad' or I'm revoking your allowance," Jaebum threatened.

 

"That's our cue." Yugyeom quickly made for the exit, the others following as unobtrusively as possible.

 

Jinyoung rolled his eye. "How the fuck is this my life," he muttered.

 

.

 

The target punches at him, a neat, efficient swing. Mark dodges right, breaks his momentum by veering left, and brings his knee up to the target’s stomach, winding him. Mark pats down the target’s coat and finds what he’s looking for in one of the inside pockets; a thin package that weighs no more than a small pocket book.

 

“Copies?” Mark asks, casually stepping on the target’s injured hand.

 

The man’s face twists with pain. “Didn’t make any.”

 

Mark presses a little harder. “Are you sure?” He asks softly.

 

The other nods quickly and Mark knocks him out with a punch and hauls the body against the door.

 

" _You have twenty minutes to get the hell out of there_." Yugyeom's voice says in is ear. " _Jackson is two floors above, go get him_."

 

Mark scoffs, already in his way, through the same route he came in. "Did Jackson screw up, is that why we only have twenty minutes? Is his earpiece broken again? Don't answer that, I know the answer already."

 

" _You know that even the slightest change can lead to disaster_." Jinyoung butts out in their talk. " _Jackson did his job, just not the way we had plan it_."

 

Mark grunts, he does a quick sweep of the corridor first; ready to cover in case someone arrived unexpectedly. He clears the floors with no trouble, silence being his only companion, and for a second he misses the constant chit chat of Jackson. It lastd only a second, when he sees Jackson leaning against a wall, twirling the second half of the package in his fingers. He winks at Mark and he ignores him, sprinting to the black sedan across the road.

 

.

 

Office supplies made great weapons. Mark will tell you why now.

 

There are fingers on his throat, squeezing the air out of his lungs, but that is not the worst, the situation gets even more problematic when the water rushes out around him, covering his face, muffling out the sound and making his vision cloudy. The fingers are crushing his windpipe, making his throat burn and his eyes sting.

 

It feels like forever until his sluggish brain tells him he can't breathe, and he needs air to survive. Mark wants to open his mouth and take a deep breath, he wants to ease the excruciating pain in his lungs, but somewhere far away he knows that if he opens his mouth, he will drown, there is no air underwater for him to breath.

 

He is ready to open his mouth, there is no more fighting left on him, Mark is ready to give up, the urge to open his mouth and take a deep breath is filling every single cell on his body, taunting him to die, in on way or another. It is in that split second, before he gives up, that the fingers on his throat ease out of him and Mark splutters, raising his head from underwater.

 

He falls to his knees, coughing up water that he did not know he had swallowed. It burns his way through his stomach, rushing up his throat and nose, leaving a burning sensation in its wake. There are hands on his back and Mark strikes out whoever it is, it may be friend or foe but he is too worried for that now.

 

He manages to calm down not long after, catching Youngjae's, his hand still on Mark's back, looking at Jackson rather impassively as they watched the enemy drop to the ground like a sack of potatoes, unconscious. It seemed that a paperweight to the back of the head could do that to a person.

 

.

 

The irony of the situation always makes Mark let out a tiny smile, the fact that they are able to mingle in the middle of families, friends, man and woman, without any suspicion is kind of amazing. They are conspicuous in a way that Mark thought impossible, they are just a bunch of guys hanging out together, Mark is just a guy in a hoodie eating a cheeseburger.

 

By the corner of his eyes, he watches Kunpimook throw a french fry at Yugyeom, that with an amazing agility manages to catch it with his mouth. Jaebum glares at them and Jinyoung barks out a; fucking pretend to be an ordinary human being for once.

 

"This milkshake tastes like crap." Jackson frowns at the cup in his hand. "I can feel it burning a hole in my stomach, maybe the milk is spoiled or something."

 

Youngjae bits his lips, trying to hold in a smile and Mark glances around the table, catching the look that Kunpimook and Yugyeom share. He sighs, and grabs his drink, but only after sniffing it discretely and takes small sips, his throat still sore from the last mission.

 

Jaebum waits until they settle down before opening his mouth, "We need to have a discussion about this morning's incident."

 

Jinyoung snorts and mouths the world incident with a raised eyebrow. But it's Youngjae who speaks first.

 

"Incident?"

 

"I'm fine," Mark mutters, but Jackson gives him an incredulous look and he shuts up. "We know the risks of what we do and we still choose to do it anyway. It wasn't the first or will it be the last time that any of us gets hurt."

 

"First time you almost drowned, I'm pretty sure of that." Jinyoung hisses between clenched lips.

 

"I was only under for thirty seconds."

 

"Seventy-three seconds," Youngjae clarifies. "I counted it."

 

"Exactly, it wasn't that long." Mark counter attacks, putting his food to the side, no longer hungry.

 

"It is long when someone grabs you and forces your head under water," Kunpimook says immediately. Mark glances at Jackson, bumping him with his knee, trying to take a reaction out of him, Jackson is not one to stay quiet for long.

 

"We lost our opportunity." Jaebum interrupts them. "Which means that we still have a job to do."

 

"Jesus fuck," Jinyoung curses loudly, gaining a look from the other people on the dinner. "We don't need the damn money, just tell them to give the assignment to other company."

 

"Yes," Jackson says, pointing at Jinyoung. "That's a great idea."

 

"That's a terrible idea," Jaebum says. "Do you know what kind of damage that can do to us?" Mark goes back to his drink and watches Jackson and Jaebum try to out glare each other.

 

"Sometimes we need to decide what matters the most." Yugyeom looks at Jaebum in the eye and the older one deflates. Almost like he was already expecting this outcome.

 

"Like buy some cream for those bruises," Jackson warns looking at Mark, his face hard, expression difficult to read. Mark reaches his hand, below the table, and joins his fingers to Jackson ones, giving him a reassuring squeeze. Jackson's thumb grazes his palm, running circles on his hand calmly.

 

"What?" Youngjae screeched, pointing an accusing finger at Jaebum and Mark looks at them, trying to make sense of the talk.

 

"Couple of months after Libra operation began, I uncover some pretty nasty information," said Kunpimook. "It was pure luck, but the information was dangerous. I was pulled out of the mission, and Jaebum was ordered to continue to pass intel. That way they thought that I was still spying for them."

 

Jaebum takes a deep breath and continues for Kunpimook. "It was the perfect plan until Kunpimook cover was blown up, in a blink of an eye, everyone was after the damn flash drive. JYP knew that we were the agents on the case, but we did not know that he was Libra. When they started to threaten Kunpimook, I wanted him to go to hiding, it was, once again, pure luck that Jackson was kidnapped. We used the situation to our favor. Everyone would be safe, not happy, but safe.

 

Yugyeom was scrolling through some papers, the transcripts of the meetings between Kunpimook and JYP, let out a loud snort and Youngjae rolled his eyes hard.

 

"Listen here, you may not trust me, but Kunpimook did nothing, he is completely innocent." Jaebum looks straight at Mark when he said this, making him shift in his seat, leaning more one Jackson. "He did nothing to you Jackson, and much less to you, Mark."

 

Jaebum could not even begin to understand how it was for Mark and Jackson to be stuck in that place, to not being able to do nothing, to see your best friend being tortured and ignoring it for the sake of the mission. To be shot by your own brother and then kill him for the horrible things that they thought he had done.

 

Mark lowers his head to the floor, not ready to say anything to Jaebum's words, avoiding the problem for the time being. Jackson was different when he trusted someone, he did it with all his soul, with everything he had, if that trust was shattered, with would take a lot of work and time to get back to what it was.

 

"I understand all that shit, but Jaebum, it's not good enough," Jackson said rather harshly. "You can't toy with us like that, in this line of work, trust is everything and maybe if you hadn't hidden information, we would not be in this mess."

 

"Frankly we've had this talk one too many times already, it's pissing me off. Leave them alone, they will be ready when they are." That son of a bitch. His secrets have secrets, Jinyoung had said and now Mark understood what he meant with those words directed at Jaebum.

 

Being the leader was not easy and Jaebum was now paying the price for trying and do the right thing.

 

"What do you have on them?" asked Kunpimook, and like that, they were back on business.

 

"We've got Medical records, testimonies of personal that are abusing their position and conducting unethical researches."

 

Jaebum nodded, giving the go ahead to Youngjae.

 

"Financial transfers, surveillance files and ..."

 

.

The silence was oppressive, it was weighing Mark down, pressing with so much force against his barriers that he did not know what to do. In reality, it's nothing new, Mark's been pretty much lost this last few months, going trough the motions, doing whatever is asked of him, whatever they expect him to do. He takes a quick glance at Kunpimook, biting his lip softly, mind working on something to say.

 

"The weather is cool today," Kunpimook is the one breaking the silence and Mark snorts at his choice of words. Rain and thunder for three days straight, Kunpimook was never one to enjoy the heat.

 

Mark shrugs in answer and glances at the other again. Jaebum as been on top of him lately, his hard gaze follows him everywhere and Mark avoids the other like the plague, as much as you can avoid your boss, he even knows in which side of the bed Mark sleeps, talking about stalking. But the point is Jaebum wants Mark to talk with Kunpimook, wants everyone to talk with the younger, really.

 

They all try they best, but Mark is a master at running away. He likes to pretend that the problem does not exist, until it comes and bites him right in the ass, in this case, shot him in the stomach, but who cares? Jaebum doesn't. They are alone in the house they all share, it's the best way to strengthen our relationship, Youngjae says with the brightest smile.

 

"Come on man, give me something." Kunpimook moves closer on the couch, patting him in the thigh.

 

He freezes for a second, pressing the palms of his hands onto his eyes. "I don't know how to act around you," Mark whispers, words barely leaving his lips.

 

"I can only apologize so much, Mark."

 

"It's not that, I just, I don't know, you hurt me." He sighs heavily and continues before Kunpimook can stop him. "I know it wasn't really you, but it was your face and your voice."

 

"I'm sorry, for all its worth it, I really am. At the time it seemed the right thing to do, it was all so fast you know, I was ready to go into hiding, but then Jaebum came with that messed up plan. I went with it, I just wanted everyone to be save, I wanted to make another good thing before disappearing forever. It's really selfish, right?"

 

"I need time. Jaebum as been all over me, and I just need time. I trust you, you know I do, but I'm also scared of you. Not in the sense of you harming any of us physically, but maybe of you leaving again. I don't know."

 

Kunpimook stays silent for the longest time, and Mark worries that maybe he hurt the youngest feelings by pushing him away so many times. He looks at Kunpimook again, giving him a small smile and receives another one in return. He misses Kunpimook. He had had this talk with Jackson thousands of times already. Jackson is actually making an effort, he talks with the Kunpimook, laughs with him, laughs at him. It seems that Mark is still the only one stuck in this time loop.

 

"So, how are things with lover boy?"

 

Mark snorts again, rolling his eyes so hard that his head throbs for a few seconds. "You mean, why do I take so many shit from him?"

 

"Oh shut up, you guys are disgusting, seriously. Always whispering sweet nothings at each other, it's kind of adorable actually."

 

"Jackson burned the kitchen down yesterday, how is that for romantic?"

 

"So that's where the smell came from." Kunpimook let out with a laugh.

 

They keep quiet after that, and Mark grabs the remote from the coffee table, putting some movie on, using it as an excuse for not talking. Kunpimook shuffles next to him, his head coming to rest on Mark's shoulder and he tenses, fighting to keep still and let the younger use his shoulder. He falls asleep like that and wakes up to Yugyeom's raised eyebrows and Youngjae's knowing smiles.

 

.

 

Mark collapsed face down in bed. He could hear Jackson unpacking close to him. He should unpack, too. But he couldn't seem to make himself move, he was behind tired, heavy and sore, his throat scratchy, not even the dozen balsams that Jackson had wasted money on it seem to accelerate the recovery of the heavy bruising on his neck.

 

He felt the mattress dip and a body crawling over next to him, a pair of legs slung over Mark's back. He turned and cracked an eye open grunting at Jackson, who was looking down at him expectantly.

 

"What," Mark said after Jackson shrugged off his shirt.

 

"Oh I don't know," Jackson said with a flourish, flexing his muscles, and wiggling his eyebrows. Mark continue to look, not giving Jackson the satisfaction of knowing how he was enjoying the show.

 

"If you don't know what it is, shut up and let me nap."

 

Jackson slid a hand down his abs. "I'm doing you a favor, letting you look at all this hotness."

 

"Eh," Mark said a few seconds after deliberation. "Jaebum's are nicer."

 

Jackson made an indignant noise. "Why don't you come over here and say that to my face?"

 

Mark rolled on his back, seating front to front to Jackson . "Jaebum's abs are better than yours," he said cheerfully, even adding a smile to cause an effect.

 

Jackson lunged for him and Mark found himself pinned to the bed under Jackson. "Got anything to say now?" Jackson challenged.

 

"Yes. You are really heavy. Like you need a diet, heavy."

 

Jackson snorted and started tickling his sides.

 

"Okay, okay," Mark gasped. "Your abs are awesome, those around you envy them."

 

“You talk your way right into my heart, love” Jackson answers back, grinning, then hauls Mark in for a kiss, and another, and maybe one more.

 

Outside the room, peeking through the door, Kunpimook lets out a small squeak, covering his mouth with his hand to prevent any more sound from escaping. He couldn't hide his grin, though, those two were fucking cute.

 

_The End_

 

 

 


End file.
